New Spider-Man animated series gets a prequel comic from a longtime Spider-Man writer who also worked on the Playstation games

Spider-Man is about to get a new animated series streaming on Disney Plus, but alongside the show, titled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Marvel Comics is publishing a prequel story setting up exactly how Peter Parker got to where he is as a young hero.

Written by Christos Gage with art by Eric Gapstur, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will run for five issues starting in December, and will introduce the supporting cast of the animated show including none other than Nico Minoru of the Runaways, and many classic Spidey villains.

"In Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter Parker is on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike what we’ve seen before and a style that celebrates the character’s earliest comic book roots," reads Marvel's official description of the comic.

"In this new comic book series, you can take the very first steps along with him as he discovers his powers, decides to become a hero, and even picks out his name and costume! Now Peter’s gotta survive an entire Freshman year as a newbie crime-fighting vigilante…and if you think you know how this story goes, you are in for a surprise!"

Writer Christos Gage is no stranger to Spider-Man, having written numerous Spider-Man comics over the years, as well as serving as a writer on the video games Marvel's Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 and their spin-off comics.

"I've had the privilege of writing a lot of Spider-Man's adventures, both in comics and in the Insomniac video games, but one thing I've never gotten the chance to do is recount his earliest exploits," Gage says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "And the exciting part about this book is it's a brand new take on those formative times. While this is definitely Peter Parker, the Spidey we know and love, he's got a new cast of supporting characters - including Nico Minoru, who you may know from Runaways - and some surprising twists!"

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 goes on sale December 11 with 2 covers by Leonardo Romero, seen above. The streaming series premieres November 2 on Disney Plus.

Stay up to date on all the new Spider-Man comics Marvel has planned for release.